For seven years, a family in Valhalla has had to grapple with a large hole in front of the house.
The area is well known for sinkholes, as it is underlain by dolomitic rock, but this hole on Godiva Road is not a sinkhole but was dug-up.
Mariya Kalashnikova, who has lived in Valhalla since 2012, said that she is frustrated that they have had to live with the hole for so long.
The hole is about 5m deep, extending under an enclosed concrete storm water culvert.
“The municipality said that there was a fault in the sewer pipe so came to do repairs, and then just left thereafter.”
Kalashnikova said the municipality kept the family in the dark about what was going on.
“After asking and asking, we found out that it was reported as a sinkhole.
How could it be a sinkhole?”
She said that she continued to report the problem, and officials came to check each time.
“I eventually got a contact in the region and asked for updates.”
She said she was told that the hole would have to be assessed, but has not heard anything since.
“Last week, [metro workers] came out, and said that the storm water [culverts] was cracked.
“Of course it is going to crack, there has been no ground under it for seven years. The ground on top of it is very heavy and there are even trees over it.
“You can also see the water pipes and electricity cables going through the hole.”
Kalashnikova said then locals started using the hole as a dumpsite, forcing the metro to fence it.
She said a few months ago, the fence was extended to block off part of her yard as the ground had begun to subside.
Andre de Bruyn, chairperson of the Afriforum Centurion branch has been following the Kalashnikova case since 2019.
The civil rights organisation cleared the site of overgrown trees and plants after the family raised security concerns.
Kalashnikova said she worried how this would impact her family in the future.
“In another seven years, our son will be finished with high school.
“We will want to sell the house but nobody is going to buy it. Who wants to buy a hole, where is the security?”
Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said in 2017 a trench to expose the sewer pipe that was leaking, was dug up along the pavement.
He said then a cavity was discovered below two storm water culverts.
“From the visual inspections, the cavity is approximately 3m deep below the culvert concrete slab and extends towards the kerb of the road,” Mashigo told Rekord.
He said the hole was left uncovered so the cavity could be assessed.
Mashigo said because the cavity was associated with the dolomitic underlying rock, it was regarded as a sinkhole – a dolomite cavity is seen as a sinkhole.
“Based on the latest sinkhole incident priority listing, the incident is at number 23,” he said.
Mashigo said the cavity now needs to be repaired and filled to create a stable platform for further work.
“Filling the hole with soil will result in the loose material collapsing into the cavity.”
Ward councillor Ina Strijdom said that larger sinkholes were being prioritised due to budget constraints.
She said she hoped that in the next financial year, the budget would allow the metro to repair the smaller sinkholes.
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